I have been taking this med for about 6 weeks. I needed a refill, I was without the med for 24hrs. and was very sleepy and lethargic. I felt withdrawal symptoms. Once I took med again my "sick" feeling went away.

Comment from: kikipalm, 35-44 on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)Published: December 03

I have taken just about every bipolar and depression drug, I gave up after a while. After countless dr.'s, I finally found a dr. that gave me this medication. I call it my miricle drug!!! I has worked fantastic and I am so happy to be able to function again!

I have Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue. When I'm not feeling so bad sometimes I can get by with a nap during the day, but my energy level is always low. When the Chronic Fatigue kicks in, sometime I will stay in bed for 4-5 days just falling in and out of sleep. When that happens I usually am awake only about 6 hours per day. My doctor prescribed this drug to help me stay awake, but at 5mg I don't think it is doing anything. Does anyone else have any additional experience as a patient with this drug for a similar condition?

Comment from: wantstobenormal, 25-34 on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)Published: July 28

Dr. gave me this bc it was cheaper than Adderall XR (which worked like a charm) but this isn't helping at all. In fact it is causing other issues....like I am super ill and snap with little control of myself. It doesn't just limit my talking... I don't want to talk at all.... and I don't want to hear anyone else talk either.... not even on tv. And I am suppose to take it 2 times a day....well the second time I can't even remember if I took it or not. And it doesn't help me focus.... instead I kind of zombie out and don't think at all... I just stare. It makes me ill and paranoid....I miss my adderall

Comment from: Female on Treatment for 10+ years (Patient)Published: February 09

AN OPTION for some:Methylphenidate is one of the pills the Docs put me on to help alertness during the day. NOTE: I do not have ADHA !. The alertness problem is probably caused by other meds along with a "thing" they call depression. I don't really know. IMPORTANT: I WAS ON PROVIGIL FOR ABOUT A YEAR BEFORE MY INSURER PULLED IT. Provigil maintained a steady, even, alertness (not a high) all day for me and wore off in the evening. I had very little insomnia . AND PROVIGIL DID NOT PRODUCE ADDITIONAL ANXIETY in my case. Methylphenidate is to much like coffee, going up and down, up and down, and it's hard to find correct doses for an acceptable result. Also, my experience is that a TOLERENCE to Methylin occurs FAST. My Doctor warned me about this. A few times a month I radically lower the dose for several days, and go through some rotten withdrawal on purpose. Otherwise tolerence develops quickly over about 4-8 days and the methylphenidate's effectiveness, in my case would require increasing dosages(very bad news). With PROVIGIL, tolerance was negligible. If you are looking for that which helps alertness along with better concentration (how can one concentrate well when one is just about to fall asleep?)...if you can afford it, try to ask your Doc to let you try Provigil. For me and my health situation PROVIGIL was far far superior to METHYLPHENIDATE (AKA RITALIN), and if I could afford it, I would revert to Provigil and I am trying to find some $ to offset the cost differential. My doctor agrees and actully apologized that I was going from that which worked very well, to an inferior med solution (FOR MY PARTICULAR CASE).
HEY OUT THERE ... May your health improve no matter what, and may we all arrive at a point where we need no pills or any medicine to thrive. YOU ARE NOT ALONE with your health problems. Never give up..please. I tried once and well...just never ever give up...
Steve R R
In The Great Pacific Northwest of
USA and CANADA
11-17-2008

Comment from: DawnB, 7-12 Female on Treatment for 2-5 years (Patient)Published: May 30

My son is 10 years old and has been taking Ridalin since he was 6 years old along with 36mg of Concerta in the morning. His origial doseage was 5mg twice a day once at 4PM and again at 7PM however last year I spoke with our family DR and informed him that it seemed as though at times it made it to where he could not go to sleep he would lay there in bed and stare at the ceiling or mess around for 3-4 hours after going to bed so we decided to cut out the 7PM dosage. However, he still has this problemm at times. I have also noticed that there are times that this medicine seems to help and then other times he still bounces off the wall so I have had mixed feelings about it. I am thinking it is time to re-evaluate him and maybe try something differant.

Patient Comments are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your physician or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on RxList. The opinions expressed in the comments section are of the author and the author alone. RxList does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment.

If you think you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.

Report Problems to the Food and Drug Administration

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit the FDA MedWatch website or call 1-800-FDA-1088.